Odometer



May l0, 1938. R, o. HELGEBY ET Al. 2,117,024

ODOMETER Filed April 8, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l "HHH I 1 *WIl/Il/l//ll/ Suo: am

May 10, 1938. R. o. HELGEBY ET A1. 2,117,024

ODOMETER Filed April 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May l0, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ODOMETER Ralph 0. Helgeby and Henry 1i. Harada, Flint,

Application April 8,

5 Claims.

"This invention relates to odometers and may be described as an improvement over the invention setv forth in application Serial Number 38,365, both applications being assigned to a common assignee.

In odometers having provision for quick resetting, the transfer pinions having xed axes must be mounted to permit rotation thereof when two adjacent wheels are rotating together. This has been provided for in the application above referred to by so mounting the transfer pinion that it vmay move bodily radially against spring resistance. It has been found that after resetting to a position where like gures on the several wheels were aligned and positioned opposite the opening in the dial plate, the subsequent normal counting operation caused the series of wheels to turn slightly so that they became out of registration with the dial plate opening. It was nccessary to reset to a position slightly beyond correct registration with the opening to make correction for this error.

'I'he present invention has for its object the avoidance of the above difficulty.

As an object incidental to the above. the invention provides an improved yielding means to permit quick resetting.

Other objects including minimum cost to attain the major objects will be understood from the following description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through the odometer.

Fig. la and Fig. 1b are diagrams to show the improvement over the older construction.

Fig. 2 is a. section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig.4 4 is a section like Fig. 3 but with the wheel in a different position of rotation.

Fig. 5 1s a view in edge elevation of a figure wheel.

Fig. 6 is a view like Fig. 4 showing a changed position of the transfer pinion.

Fig. 7 is a detail in perspective.

Referring by reference characters to the drawings, numeral il is an odometer shaft to which is fixed the wheel l3-the decimal wheel. Successive wheels I5, I1, and I! are rotatably supported on shaft ii. Each wheel is peripherally marked with gures as shown by Fig. 5. Wheel I! is held from reclprocation by a retainer 2i. A clutch 23 is non-rotatably engaged with wheel Il and is reciprocated toward the right by a spring 25. In one position it is rotated by suitable gearing and in another position it is rotated -ifl 1936, Serial No. 73,270

(Cl. 23S- 144) by a reset stem. These details are not shown, being old and well known.

On the side of each Wheel adjacent the wheel of lower denomination is a series of internal teeth 21. The side of each wheel adjacent the wheel of higher denomination is stepped to form a ledge 29 and an annular surface 3|. Ledge 29 is cut out at 33 and on either side of the cut-out region surface 3| has internal teeth 35 and 31. These teeth extend radially inward less than teeth 21. Between each pair of adjacent wheels is a carrier plate 39 for supporting a transfer pinion 4|. I'he pinion 4i has spaced radial rings 43 engaging the side walls of plate 39 adjacent a slot 45 formed therein. On one side of the rings 43 are l teeth 49 in engagement with teeth 21. On the other side of the rings 43 are teeth 5i in alignment with teeth 43. These teeth 5I extend over the annular surface 3| and are adapted to engage teeth 35 and 31. 5i are elongated and tapered as shown at 53. These teeth 53 are in the plane of the ledge and spaced ones of said teeth may engage the ledge to prevent undesired rotation of the pinion in normal counting.

The plate 38 is held from rotation in any preferred way as by means of a. slotted arm 55, the slot to engage some convenient part of the instrument with which the odometer is used. The extensions 51 of the plate 39 on either side of the slot 45 pass through openings 59 in a fiat resilient plate Si seated on the surfaces 52 formed by cutting the plate. The intermediate part 6I of the spring plate is adapted to engage the teeth I9 and 5i and yeldingly hold the pinion in engagement with the teeth 21 and 35-31 of the wheels. The slot 45 is of suicient depth to permit the pinion to withdraw from active position as will be seen by reference to Fig. 2.

For the purpose of quick resetting the shaft has a longitudinal notch 65. Each wheel except I3 carries a pawl 61 adapted to be engaged with the notch of the shaft and rotated with and by the shaft in one direction of rotation of the latter so that each of the wheels may be picked up and rotated in the course of one complete rotation of the shaft, a process well known to accomplish the so-called quick resetting. In normal forward counting the pinion is held outwardly,by spring 6I as in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. During the rotation of a given wheel the fiat surfaces of teeth 53 rest on thc ledge 23 as in Fig. 4, thereby preventing an undesired rotation of the pinion and any consequent rotation of the next higher denomination wheel until the teeth 35 and 31 reach the teeth 5I.

Alternate ones of these teeth Fig. 4, for example, shows a movement from 2 in the counterclockwise direction oi rotation of wheel i5. Teeth 35 and 3l continue to travel around in a counterclockwlse direction until tooth 35 engages tooth Ela and rotates the pinion, tooth 5Ib entering the space between teeth and ill. In this way wheel il is turned one-tenth of a revolution for one complete rotation o1? wheel i5. During this movement it will be clear trom Fig. l that tooth 53' is received Within the opening 33 of the ledge to permit the action to taire place..

To effect the quick reset operation', the shaft Il is rotated clockwise, as seen in Fig. 3 carrying wheel I3 with it. 'I'he notch 65 picks up one and another of the pawls 51 oi' the other wheels until all wheels are rotating together in a direction the reverse of that for normal counting. Thus. in Fig. 6, it may be assumed that teeth 3i and 35 are approaching the teeth of the pinion. However, before the position of Fig. 6 is reached, it may be assumed that the next higher wheel has been picked up by the notch and pawl and is being rotated. If the flat tooth extensions E13 should remain on the ledge as shown in Fig. 3, such a rotation of the pinion could not occur. Tol accommodate this rotation the spring @il yields, permitting the pinion to be moved inward radially as it is rotated from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 6 where one tooth 53 (not two teeth 53) engages the ledge. As a result of this movement its teeth 5i are moved out of the path of movement of teeth 35 and 37 but teeth d@ remain in engagement with teeth fil. A continued rotation of the shaft aligns the figures on all the wheels as they rotate together because the position of the paw] of each wheel is similarly located relative to the gures.

In prior constructions of this kind the equivalent of ledge 29 was in the form of a continuous circle broken only by such an opening as 33. in the present case there are nine grooves il which, added to notch 33, constitute ten equally distributed depressions in the ledge. These depressions Il produce certain very advantageous results.

As the pinion was pushed radially inward in prior constructions, it was moved further inward so that the equivalent of teeth 53 engaged the uniform ledge. The difference will be obvious from Fig. 6 where the teeth 53 are shown as successively received not on the iats 'lia but in the grooves 1i. Less radial movement of the pinion is therefore required. This means the saving oi expense in the spring device for the pinion in that it can be made much simpler and this makes possible a simpler and cheaper pinion carrier plate.

There is another very important advantage resulting from the use of the grooved ledge. In the older construction when resetting, the transfer pinion was rotated and pressed inwardly so that two teeth like teeth 53 were moved away from the ledge and one tooth was brought into engagement with the ledge along a radius thereof, being moved further inward than as shown in Fig. 6, of course. Since this movement of the pinion removed its teeth from contact with the Wheel teeth, the described radial position oi pin ion teeth 53 relative to the wheel was present when the quick resetting was completed with the figures on the wheels opposite the dial opening just prior to beginning normal forward `counting. As forward counting began, there was a slight rotation of the pinion and therefore oi the wheels in the process of shifting the pinion to the position shown by Fig. 3 when two teeth engaged the ledge. This removed the horizontai line of figures from a position immediately opposite the dial opening. To correct this defect in operation, it was customary to continue the resetting slightly beyond the position where the igures registered with the opening in the dial plate. The beginning of normal operation then produced the slight rotation described and efiected a correct position of the figures.

In the present arrangement, the Iigures are located opposite the iiats 'ila of the ledge. The pinion is rotated by joint rotation of successive wheels and teeth 53 travel in the grooves lit. The teeth of the next higher wheel are thus continuously rotating the pinion, it being understood that a tooth 49 in alignment with 53 (Fig. 6) is engaged with one of the teeth 2l, owing to the lesser inward movement of the pinion. The pinion, as it rotates, makes a series of audible clicks as it shifts from the position of Fig. 6 to that of Fig. 3 where it moves outwardly and two teeth (not one only) engage the arcuate surface or ledge 29. At the moment of the click and the double tooth Contact one of the figures is opposite `the dial opening. The subsequent normal operation therefore starts with the gures in registration with the opening and with no occasion for the slightly excessive rotation in the resetting direction because, at the time the figure is opposite the opening, the teeth are in correct position for normal operation.

The improved operation will be understood by comparing Fig. 1b with Fig. la.

We claim.:

l. lln an odometer, a first figure wheel, a second gure wheel, a transfer pinion therebetween, the second figure wheel having an annular series of teeth to engage the transfer pinion, the first iigure wheei having a plurality oi? teeth at one part of its periphery to engage the transfer pinion, the irst gure wheel having a ledge formed with a series oi circumferentially distributed grooves, and the transfer pinion having tooth extensions to contact said grooved ledge.

2. in an odometer, figure wheels having teeth, a carrier plate between said wheels, said plate having parts removed to form spaced tongues and flat surfaces at the base thereof, a fiat spring resting on said surfaces and having openings eine bracing said tongues, a toothed transfer pinion in the space between said tongues and projected by said spring into engagement with said wheel teeth.

3. The invention dened by claim 2, said space between said tongues being radially elongated to permit bodily movement of said pinion inwardly in a radial direction.

4i. In an odometer, a wheel having on one side thereof a circumferential ledge and an axially disposed annular surface, said ledge having circumferentially arranged grooves and said surface having a plurality of teeth at one part only or" its circumference.

5. In an odometer, ilrst and second wheels, teeth on said wheels, an interposed pinion having teeth to engage the wheel teeth and alternate extension teeth, means to resiliently mount said pinion for radial movement to accommodate quick resetting, said first wheel having a circular ledge provided with grooves to contact said extension teeth to facilitate normal operation after re setting.

RALPH O. HELGEBY. HENRY l-l. HAHAHA. 

